Coasts, Climates, the Humanities, and the Environment Consortium
In 2019 The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation awarded a $150,000 two-year grant (extended to three years due to COVID-19) to pilot a consortium of four research institutions and their public partners to study coasts, climates and the environmental humanities. The Coasts, Climates, the Humanities, and the Environment Consortium (CCHEC) is a partnership of the University of Georgia, Louisiana State University, the University of Florida, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as well as an alliance of regional stakeholders.
Research into the diversity and complexity of coastal zones and cultures through the medium of environmental humanities approaches is growing rapidly in the context of climate instability. The consortium will engage diverse community groups, students, and faculty in projects that study the environmental history and impacts of storms and tidal waters on a series of specific locations. Participants will integrate archival research with public engagement in order to create humanities-informed models of understanding for contemporary and emerging challenges.
Members of CHECC had their first meeting at the National Humanities Center on September 26, 2019. The meeting concluded with a public conversation on “Coastal Thinking” between four leading environmental humanities scholars: Hester Blum of Penn State University, Margaret Cohen of Stanford University, Ryan Emanuel of North Carolina State University, and Killian Quigley of the University of Sydney. Nicholas Allen, Baldwin Professor in Humanities and director of the Willson Center at UGA, who is the principal investigator of the grant, chaired the discussion.
Projects
Year 1
Atlas of Meaning, Terrebonne Parish, LA (LSU)
Voices of Resilience and Recovery in Robeson County, NC (UNC – Chapel Hill)
Events
Sept. 26, 2019 | Meeting of the Coasts, Climates, the Humanities, and the Environment Consortium | National Humanities Center
Feb. 19, 2020 | Willis Jenkins – “The Sacred Anthropocene: On Religious Interpretations of Planetary Change” | University of Georgia
Apr. 16, 2020 | POSTPONED: Jack Davis – “The Gulf of Mexico: History, Wisdom, and Hope” | University of Georgia
Oct. 12-14, 2021 | Coastal Conservatory Fall Symposium & Festival | University of Virginia
Jan. 26-28, 2023 | Meeting of the Coasts, Climates, the Humanities, and the Environment Consortium | University of Florida
Resources
Coastal Conversations
Steven Mentz, St. Johns University; Valerie Babb, Emory University; Alexandra Campbell, Edinburgh Napier University; Ryan Emmanuel, North Carolina State University; Nicholas Allen, moderator, University of Georgia
Malinda Maynor Lowery, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill; Terry Harpold, University of Florida; Craig Colten, Louisiana State University; Nicholas Allen, moderator, University of Georgia
Isaac Land, Indiana State University; Claire Connolly, University College Cork, Ireland; Willis Jenkins, University of Virginia; Nicholas Allen, moderator, University of Georgia
Jacqueline Lawton, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill; Stephen Berry, University of Georgia; Ken Sassaman, University of Florida; Nicholas Allen, moderator, University of Georgia